...and the winner is?

Moi. My unit of study results are in and for my last subject with a score of 93% (that's another High Distinction) officially comes the end my friend, of the Masters forever.

On being 'done'

My mother has an oft-repeated statement that annoys me more than anything. It surrounds her notion of being 'done'...for her this is usually surrounded by a pleading stream of things that have to be 'done' household chores, ironing at 6am on Sunday mornings, cooking tea early on a Sunday evening...(I'm sure the last two are somehow related). I have often joked that on her eventual demise I will make some salacious speech about her finally 'being done'...(I am a nice daughter, I promise)...but today I can finally declare that 'I'm done'. Five years ago I decided I needed to do a Masters, five years before that I had this silly notion of going off to get myself a university education. Ten years later and the tax department should list me as a Gold Sponsor with the amount of HECs I will be paying back over the rest of my life. But you know what? I'm done.

I am done feeling guilty when I know I should be studying/reading/writting instead of well, having a life

I am done trying to do ridiculous all-nighters or the trick (that never works and I have Lisa to back me up on this) of the little nap...20 minutes at 3am does not make you a better proof reader...and I have proof

I am done with MLA, APA, Harvard in-text and the acronym Ibid.

I am done with economic multipliers, frescoes, oils, works on paper and movable cultural heritage, the 4 P's, the 7P's, narratology, semiology, communication theory and models, proposals, plans, reports, essays, critiques and the worse of all, the dreaded multiple choice!

I am done with using phrases such 'as Lord argues' and 'as Falk and Dierking outline'

I am done with reading others thoughts, summarising them, comparing, contrasting, arguing against them, reapplying their thinking to other disciplines and trying to make something original out of what is, lets face it, a crap essay question to begin with

I am done trying to out do everybody else to see if I can squeeze in another reference

I am done with the anti-climatic moment of handing things in

I am done trying to work out why although I get good marks no one has ever really offered any constructive criticism...yes I agree with you, that was a well written essay...but what happened to those other 5 marks? (oh, you lost them on your bell curve?)

I am done listing things I am done with.

Ahhhhhhh....now that's out of the way and the list of things I can now catch up on is in front of me...let's see, watching soap opera, sleeping in, gardening, sailing...well really leisure time in general, a social life, ironing at 6am on Sunday mornings, cleaning the oven...partying like it's 1999 (ahhh those ten years!)

...and now I'm done with this post.

Revealing the Arts

As I sit down today to get back into the swing of essay work about the impacts of digital and new media on museums, across town (well down the street, really) our National Broadcaster and the overseer of our cultural institutions are likewise engaged in conversation about just that.

Are you wondering what’s happening to arts and culture in the new digital world? Where will the money come from? How will we manage rights? Where do we find creative partners? What works and what doesn’t? And what are we leaving the next generation? The Australia Council for the Arts and the ABC invite you to be part of a selected group of strategic thinkers, artists, practitioners and directors who will uncover the opportunities for the arts that the digital era presents.

Today and tomorrow, the ABC and the Australia Council are hosting 'Revealing the Arts: creative conversations and solutions for the digital era'. The program of discussion appears to be covering the current and future role of digital across areas such as a education and opening up access to arts, while tackling 'issues' such as copyright, rights management and commercial opportunities in the digital era.

One thing that has struck me is the inclusion of OA's Chief Executive among the speakers list in a presentation with David Ford on Aussie Cosi entitled 'SHOW ME HOW - Revealing the Creative Opportunities'. As a small initiative that may or may not have reached it's strategic aim (bums on seats? access? sorry was there a strategic aim?) it will indeed be interesting to hear what is said about this project.

The ABC is providing live streaming of the event on both days, so there's no excuse not to watch. You can also follow the blog or the twitter stream (see cultural caretakers can interact with digital media! my bad).

Of perhaps most interest to me is the last session entitled 'Where to from here'. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow we might all know (we can dream can't we?).

And if you need anymore proof it's one to watch, here's another great article in The Age this morning from Marcus Westbury. Marcus takes a slightly different tack and for me, one who has watched a large cultural institution grapple with the impact of the digital...I would say....right on!

there are vital basic assumptions that are rarely questioned: that the culture, the cultural organisations that deliver it, the cultural needs and infrastructure of Australia will remain more or less fixed. Technology is merely about the marketing, the branding, the language, the revenue and the education programs. The idea that the culture itself is changing and evolving is rarely considered. Technology merely changes the hype and the pitch to keep the kids interested.

The ABC has long moved beyond that. The broadcaster has realised that in order to justify its continued existence, it needs to keep questioning and evolving its roles.

I would love to (but I won't) comment on how just the opposite to the ABC approach where a lack of innovation (fostered by a lack of strategic thinking and not helped by having no budget for experimentation) seems to be one of the many blockages at the arts organisation I know intimately.

Well lets just hope that some of those attendees from the large cultural institutions are paying attention over the next few days.

Image source: http://revealingthearts.com/blog/

Wotopera Rocks! ...and here's the proof

I love when there are stats and research that back up a program's success. Not that anyone who was in the audience last year for Wotopera* wouldn't of felt the energy in the room these kids were creating...future creators and ticket buyers...to opera...who knows...but open to arts participation? Oui.

The link is to a piece by San Diego Opera’s general and artistic director Ian Campbell on the findings of a study that followed 15 symphony orchestras over the decade from 1994 to 2004. Ian suggests the findings could be applied to opera audiences as well. The findings as Campbell summarises them are:

a) There is no evidence that exposure programs for children — especially the large concert format offerings for school children — will turn them into ticket buyers as adults.

b) There is growing evidence that participatory music education — primarily instrumental lessons, ensemble and choral programs — will turn people into ticket buyers later in life.

Interesting! More here

*For those playing at home Wotopera is a school-based education imitative of OA where high school students working with music educators write an opera 'from page to stage' in a few weeks and then perform it in front of an audience. The program is sponsored by Graeme Wood of Wotif fame. The project was expanded into QLD earlier this year and the next Wotopera project in Sydney talks place in September 09...watch this space.